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FEOM 



THE COMxMERCIAL CORRESPONDENT 



OF AN 



ASSOCIATION 



OB" 



COTTON MANUFACTURERS. 



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glcprntfcir from ^h U^atmit. 



BOSTON 



'^ ^.SS OF GEO. C. RAND & AVERT, 3 CORNHILL. 
\ 18G5. 



\ 



PREFACE. 



The following letters, which are reprinted from the columns of " The Na- 
tion," were written by the correspondent of an association of Massachusetts 
manufacturers, by whom he has been sent to the South to report upon the 
condition of affairs with reference to the present and future supply of cotton. 
His errand is purely a commercial one ; but as his letters in regard to tho 
condition of the freedmen, and the feelings of the white inhabitants, have a 
general interest, they have been separated from his cotton statistics, and pub- 
lished. 

It should be stated, that although the writer of the letters has served 
nearly three years in the United-States navy, chiefly upon the inland waters, 
he was not a hearty supporter of the administration of President Lincoln, 
and was opposed to the policy of emancipation. The manufacturer who se- 
lected him for this mission was blamed by some persons for sending a man 
of Southern proclivity, who had been suspected of being a " copperhead." 

This statement is made in order that his present opinions may have full 
weight. 

It should also be stated, that his severe charges against colored troops 
apply only to such portions of them as are badly officered. In other letters, 
he has given them full credit for efficiency and good discipline, where he has 
found them under the command of good officers. 

"*■ ^^"^OSTON, NOVEMBEB, 1865. ' 



V 






LETTERS. 



Quitman, Ga., Ang. 25, 18C5. 
It is a fact not to be disputed, by any candid 
and intelligent eye-witness of the condition of 
atfairs in this section of the country at this 
present time, that the freedmen, whatever may 
be their capacity or willinjfness for labor, are 
not working to any considerable extent. I re- 
peat that this is a fact which cannot be disputed 
by any one who is well informed upon the sub- 
ject ! Not but that instances abound where 
the freedmen have done and are doing all that 
could have been expected of them, and, in some 
cases, perhaps, even more ; but these are ex- 
ceptions. 

There is no use in denying that there is an 
antagonism existing between the blacks and 
whites which threatens grave results if it is not 
checked immediately. When I lirst landed, I 
heard these reports, and paid no attention to 
them, believing them to be but the results of au 
unfounded prejudice on the part of the plant- 
ers. At first 1 laughed at the idea, but recent 
and new experiences have led me to believe 
that there is some foundation to the statement. 
Thus I find the impre.ssion general among the 
blacks upon the plantations, that next Christ- 
mas the lands are to be divided among them. 
This idea they say they heard first from our 
soldiers. General Sherman's course in setting 
aside the Sea Islands for the freedmen may 
have suggested the idea ; but, however it came, 
it is prevalent to a great extent, and amounts 
almost to a conviction with some. The breach 
between the blacks and the whites deepens 
and widens day by day ; on no account should 
the militai-y control be withdrawn from this 
country. Wherever our troops, white, have 
been taken away, the people would be glad 
to have them back again. _ Among all law- 
abiding citizens the desire is that the white 
troops" shall be permitted to remain until 
the complete and perfect re-establishment of 
civil government, tor which, by the way, 
the bulk of the people seem noways anxious, 
" tast in Georgia. I am convinced that 
3uld be content to remain under military 
I an indefinite period, if the black troops 
\t be withdrawn. 

^s a class of hungry politicians and 

' rs down here wlio are clamorous for 

•on of civil government, merely that 

lime power and office, but the best 



part of the community only appear to desire 
the restoration of law and order, and appearto 
think that it is soonest possible under our mili- 
tary officers. For instance, in the town of 
Quitman, Ga., there was stationed for a time 
a command of United-States white troops; 
and ] am informed that they were as well be- 
haved as any could expect. Under their super- 
vision the town was orderly and quiet, and no 
violations of order took place. In consecj).ience 
of the peaceable behavior of the inhabitants, 
the troops were withdrawn. Within two weeks 
upwards of two hundred bales of cotton were 
stolen, houses broken into, robberies com- 
mitted, — in fact, a perfect reign of terror 
inaugurated, while the inhabitants, though 
perfectly satisfied as to who were to blame, 
yet dared not proceed against them. The 
inhabitants petitioned the general commanding 
to send back the troops to Quitman to preserve 
social order. If our troops were withdrawn, I 
am satisfied that this would be the case over 
the whole country. The planter places no con- 
fidence in the negro, and offers him inadequate 
wages. Five to seven dollars a month, the negro 
to clothe and feed himself, is the general rule in 
the interior of the State. Ten dollars a month, 
and the negro to board and clothe himself, ia 
considered extremely liberal by the planters. 
Frequently they otler nothing in money, but 
only the boai'd, clothing, and medical attend- 
ance, the latter two being scarcely more than 
nominal, and then at the end of the season 
they offer a certain number of bushels of corn, 
sorghum, &c. Of course, no sensible man will 
blame the negro for not working for such 
wages; but then, on the other hand, the freed- 
nian is not inclined to work, even for better 
and reasonable wages, except in the most 
desultory and indifierent manner. I will say 
more on this subject hereafter. 



SAVANJfAH, Ga., Sept. 2, 1805. 
As the immediate future of the Southern 
country appears to hinge upon the relations 
that exist between the late slaves and their 
former masters, public opinion is fastened upon 
the subject, and, for the present at least, noth- 
ing else is tallced of Even the reconstruction 
question has sunk into insignificance beside it, 
as the planter slowly awakens to the fact that 



\ 



slavorv is really pone, as •svell in fart as in 
name. IMany profess to lioj)e, that, by the en- 
actment of a ripid system of vapjrant laws, the 
nej^ro mav be eonipeilcd to work on the plant- 
er's terms; but most of the people reco^rnize 
the faet that slavery is dead beyond all iiopc 
of resurrection. The feelinji of the ])lanttT 
towards the neijro s(>ems to vary accordinjj to 
position and surroundinjis. Thus in Florida I 
lbun<l a vasuc and indefinite fear prevalent as 
to the course of events. An excessive timidity 
appeared to take tiie place of the late haujxhty 
character of the planter towards his once slaves. 
If the latter did not live up to their contracts, 
as was ijenerally the case, the planter, instead 
of attemjUincT to stem the tide, by remonstrating 
with his hands and arGjuing them into a proper 
state of mind, usually went whining to the 
provost-marshals. The consequence appeared 
to be that the negro observed his employer's 
evident timidity, and learned to despise the 
planter, and refuse obedience. In fact, in some 
cases the ])lanter was obliged to call in the aid 
of the military authorities in order to maintain 
possession of his own house. At Jacksonville, 
it was painful to witness the fear on the part 
of the wliites towards the blacks. This is not 
confined to Southern men. Thus, at Jackson- 
ville, a Northern man related to me repeated 
instances of insult at the hands of negroes in 
the citj', as, for instance, being knocked off the 
sidewalk when v,'alking with ladies. lie as- 
sured me that he had always been a warm and 
earnest friend of the negro, and had come down 
Soutli with the Idndest of feelings towards him, 
but he added that he had been much disap- 
pointed. I could scarcely credit some of the 
stories he told me. At ]\Iacon, I found much 
the same state of affairs. I was there intro- 
duced to a number of gentlemen, all Northern 
men, by the way, who had been grossly in- 
sulted, fired upon without provocation, their 
lives endangered, &c., by the negro troops sta- 
tioned there. 

I was shown a bullet which hit a child in bed 
the night before ; splinters from a door hit close 
beside a man sitting at the window reading; 
the morning's paper contained three instances 
of narrow escapes the night I passed in the 
city ; and, finally, I was witness to the careless 
and wanton and nnsoldierlike firing of the 
black soldiers, whoso bullets went whistling 
thj'ough tlie streets all night long. All this is 
wrong, and should be corrected. As far as my 
observation extends, those regiments of blacks 
formerly slaves are in a very poor state of 
di-^cipline, not to say insubordination. They 
drill well, and may do the other duties required 
of them well ; but they are, one and all, disposed 
to shoot down any white man on the least e.T- 
cuse, and eager to have the opportunity. I 
have been witness to so many instances myself, 
that I must say I had rather face any band of 
guerillas in the country than meet a bo:ly of 
black troops unaccompanied by United-States 



officers. As regards the relations existing be- 
tween the planters and freedmen, there is 
wrong on both sides. In many cases the plant- 
er has over-reached and deceived the freed- 
men in his contract, and he replies to their 
demands for satisfaction with threats of vio- 
lence; but too often the freedman himself is 
all to blame. He will sign a fair and liberal 
contract to-day, and break it to-morrow, or 
ignore it entirely. When the planter has 
taken advantage, or imposed uf>on the negro, 
the latter finds liis redress at the oflice of ti;c 
provost-marshal or tho Freedman's Bureau. 
But the ])lanter is left with his crop in the 
grass at the slightest whlmsey or vagary of the 
freedman, and has no redress. Thus it has 
frequently happened here that a planter, who 
has had a respectable crop planted this spring, 
has given up all attempts at cultivation, and 
turned his hands loose, sometimes paying them 
to go away. What is needed is a law to pre- , 
vent the negroes from flocking to the towns, I 
and obliging them to fulfil their contracts when 
just and right. But the blacks are disinclined 
to work cotton and rice at any price whenever 
they can find other work to do. 

'• If oh? massa want to grow cotton, let him 
plant it himself I'se work for him dese twenty 
year, and done got nothin' but food and clothes, 
and dem mighty mean ; now I'se freedman, 
and I tell you I ain't going to work cotton no- 
how." 

This is, as nearly as I can remember, the 
exact language I hail from a freedman, in re- 
ply to a remark in relation to his raising cotton 
next year ; and his audience, all blacks except 
myself, judging from their exj)ressions of ap- 
proval, perfectly coincided with him. I cannot 
resist the conviction that it will be years again 
before we see such large crops of cotton as be- 
fore the war. I have not the least idea that 
affairs will settle down at once, as some believe ; 
every thing is in a transition state, and it will 
take years to get accustomed to the new order 
of things. In your letter of the 7th of August, 
which T found at Savannah on my return, you 
state that some of the gentlemen who are inter- 
ested in my mission have an impi-esslon that I 
am prejudiced against the negroes. I can hon- 
estly say that impression is erroneous. Indeed, 
that man who can observe their condition to- 
day, and not pity them and sympathize with 
them, must be heartless indeed. However, I 
must let you judge from my letters. I shall 
write nothing but what I sincerely believe. I 
shall fiiitlifuliy attempt to indicate their exact 
present condition, opinions, and desires. Bnt 
I must request you to bear in mind that there 
is a wide difference between the blacks v 
the ministrations of the Freedman's B' 
and those who have never come under it- 
ence, — by far the larger part. I hr 
menced to send you a separate sheet l/ 
receipt of your letter, and will write 



qnently as I obtain new facts bearing upon this 
subject. 



Charleston, Sept. 4, 1865. 
It is to be regretted that people can be found 
mean enough to impose upon the credulity of 
the poor blacks. Thus I have known them to 
come in large numbers, from distances in some 
cases exceeding a hundred miles, and all the 
way on foot, " to get the barrel of flour the 
Queen has sent us," " for a free ride to Wash- 
ington to sec the President," and on all sorts or 
kinds of errands wliich the returning con- 
federates or Union soldiers have made them 
believe to be possible. Those who have been 
thus deceived are, of course, suspicious of all 
stories. I fancy the idea they have of sharing 
the lands among them is deep and wide-spread ; 
at least, those among the freedmen who will 
not own that they believe it, are willing enough 
to assert that it ought to be so. I have a the- 
ory, formed since my arrival, that if the planter 
could be induced to go into the field himself, 
and overlook the labor of his hands, they would 
work well ; but this the planter will not con- 
sent to do. He still clings to that remnant 
of the past, the overseer, and will not be 
persuaded that he is better off without him. 
Kow, the negroes, not having any very pleas- 
ant recollections of the system of overseeing, 
utterly refuse to have one over them, and in 
almost every case have succeeded in driving 
him from the place ; they are not slow to say 
that they will kill any man who undertakes the 
job. I think, however, that where an intelligent 
and capable negro-driver can be found, such as I 
had in Mississippi, for instance, the blacks might 
be induced to labor under his supervision. He 
must not be called an overseer, however ; 
they object to that term. Northern men, hav- 
ing no objections to oversee the freedmen 
themselves, will get along and have a great 
advantage in this respect over the Southerners. 
The blacks, from their numerical preponder- 
ance in the large plantation districts, amounting 
in some parts of the country to more than ten 
to one, arc fast reversing the state of things exist- 
ing before the war. They are very insolent and 
saucy where there are no white troops, and I 
should not be in the least surprised if the next 
novelty should be the Southern people demand- 
ing protection against them. Northern people 
must come down here and regenerate this 
country, or it is hopelessly ruined for this 
generation. Society is turned completely top- 
sy-turvy. New men with new ideas are m 
great demand just now ; the Southern people 
have lost all confidence in their own leaders, 
^here is no more chance of an outbreak against 
v3 Federal Government now than there is in 
^ton. I hear as bitter denunciations of the 
^•?^rs in the Rebellion down here as I ever 
it the North, and I am persuaded that 
re sincere. They pet their returned 



vhi 



soldiers, and consider them lieroes ; they all 
respect and admire their military leaders who 
were at all successful. Thus I have heard no 
word spoken of Gen. Lee but in his favor. 
But against Jeff. Davis, Toombs, Yancey, and 
the like,' there is an intense feeling amounting 
almost to hatred. The first thing to be done is 
to educate the negro. At present, his ideas of 
freedom are based on his observation of his 
roaster's habits before the wai'. As the South- 
ern gentleman did not work, and employed his 
time in travelling about, so the freedman does 
no more work than will sufHce for his immedi- 
ate wants, and occupies his time in travelling 
from one jilace to another. I meet them on all 
the roads, in crowds, like packs of gypsies, some 
going to one place and some to another, and 
with no idea of how they are going to exist 
when they get there. This remark applies 
more particularly to the young men and 
women. The older ones have more sense, 
and many of them remain on the plantations. 
The military authorities are sending them back 
to their old homes now, but sometimes the 
planters refuse to receive them. 

I arrived here yesterday, and leave again 
to-morrow for the West via Augusta and At- 
lanta. I was six days in getting from Sa- 
vannah to Augusta last time, and took this 
route as well to save time as in order to get 
through a section of the country I had not bo- 
fore visited. 

Travelling here is still very difficult and 
tedious. As a general rule, the cars only run 
every other day, and then at a very low rate 
of speed. Fifteen miles an hour is very quick 
travelling here by rail. From Quitman to 
Doctortown, in Georgia, on the Savannah, 
Albany, and Gulf Railroad, the distance is a 
hundred and twenty-five miles ; the running- 
time is upwards of nine hours, making the rate 
of speed less than fourteen miles an hour. The 
fare charged is $10, or eight cents a mile. At 
the North, the distance would be made in about 
half the time, and for considerably less than 
half the price. The hacks usually run only by 
night, in order to make connection with the 
railroads, and make only about tour miles an 
hour. Prices on either conveyance are simply 
exorbitant. Parties of three or four are car- 
ried distances of fifty miles for twenty-five dol- 
lars each in the hacks which run between the 
breaks in the railway. The work of repairs 
goes on but slowly on these railroads. The 
steariiboats are about as bad: the rivers are at 
their lowest. I find I could easily devote my 
whole time to two or three States, and not half 
go over them at that ; so I am obliged to visit 
only the larger towns, where there is the most 
cotton in store. I have ridden myself sore 
in the saddle, and begin to appreciate the fact 
that I have heard so often dwelt upon, viz., that 
this is a great country. I take every opportunity 
of getting at the opinions of persons who are 
generally supposed to have the best informei- 



tion as to cotton, and frequently am able to 
make some arrangements to have information 
forwarded to me tioin sneh points as are too 
far away from my route for me to spare the 
time to visit. Ilei-e, as in Georgia and Flor- 
ida, the all-engrossing topie, overshadowing 
every thing else, is the future relations of the 
blacks and whites. The negroes have always 
been very quiek to learn, and to assume the 
privileges and liberties pertaining to freedom ; 
but they are. as a class, perfwtly ignorant, and 
not at all inclined to learn of the responsibili- 
ties they assume with their privileges. Depend 
upon it, you will have more trouble at the 
Isorth than at the South in relation to ne<i;ro 
Buflrage. I don't believe the Southerners will 
object to their voting as soon as they are edu- 
cated ; indeed, many arc perfectly willing they 
should vote now, believing they can control 
their vote ; but the most of the thinking men 
I meet are^ anxious to get them out of the 
country. Ko Southern man a{)pears to have 
the slightest belief in the free-labor system with 
the blacks. Emigration societies are forming 
all over the country to induce free white labor 
to come down here. 



Orangeburg, S. C, Sept. 8, 1865. 

The sole ambition of the freedman at the 
present time appears to be to become the own- 
er of a little piece of land, there to erect an 
humble home, and to dwell in peace and secu- 
rity at his own free will and pleasure : if he 
wishes to cultivate the ground to cotton on his 
own account, to be able to do so without any 
one to dictate to him hours or systems of labor; 
if he wishes instead to plant corn or sorghum or 
sweet potatoes, to be able to do that free from 
any outside control, — in one word, to be free 
to control his own time and efforts without any 
thing that can remind him of past sufferings in 
bondage. 

This is his idea, his desire, and his hope. 
It is common to all, but much stronger 
among the married and middle-aged. Ask'al- 
most any one what he is going to do this 
•winter, and he will answer you, " I'se got a 
sister" — a wife or a mother, as the case might 
be — "in Virginia, and I'm going to look her 
tip and fetch her home." Or they are going 
home themselves ; that maybe in" Mississippi^ 
or Kentucky, or any other of the Southern 
States farthest from them. One and all they 
have a journey to make ; and generally they 
are just from some point, ofttimes quite distant. 
I am more than inclined to doubt if they are 
ever again induced to work in large gangs on 
large plantations for the Southerners. . The mere 
offer of wages, however large, does not appear to 
tempt them to make engagements for any length 
of time, — a whole season, for instance. They 
are generally willing enough to perform job- 
work at a reasonable rate, if it will not take 
them more than a day or two ; but it is difficult' 



and well-nigh impossible to keep them steadily 
at work a week at a time. Tliey are apt 
to believe, in the matter of contracts, judging 
from their past experiences, that the fairer tho 
promises made to them, the less likely thev are 
to be kept. Then, again, they all appear fear- 
ful of forfeiting their m-wly accjuired liberty in 
some manner. The raising of cotton is associ- 
ated in the negroes' minds with memories of 
tho overseer, the driver, and the lash, — in 
fact, with the whole system of slaverv, and 
tl>ey appear to think them inseparable. I 
judge tliat a great change has come over them 
since the war has ceased. Thus, while they 
regarded the issue as at all doubtful, they were 
content to live on in the same old way, and to 
wait for the event to be assured. So long as 
the Southerners remained in the field, there 
were doubts ; for their masters were constantly 
assuring them that they never, never, never 
coidd be whipped. Tliat is all changed now, 
and the difference in the behavior of tho 
blacks is to be noticed at once. The present 
race of Southern men are most of them too 
set in their way ever to change their opinions. 
Here and there one will be found smart 
enough to endeavor to assimilate himself to 
Northern ideas of progress, but as a whole 
they will be left behind in the race of civiliza- 
tion. It may be that I labor under the objec- 
tion of being too near the object, and cannot 
see as distinctly, or judge as con-ectly, as those 
at greater distance ; but it does appear to 
me as though it would take years, at least, to 
restore order out of this chaos. Of one thing, 
however, there can be no doubt : the introduc- 
tion of the Northern element an<l principles 
will do more toward the re-establishment of 
law and order than any other one thing. Tho 
Southerners' minds are in a peculiar state just 
now. They listen to all hints as to the im- 
provement of their situation ; and the sensible 
ones are anxious, and even eager, to give the 
free-labor system a fair trial, although not one 
in a hundred but will pronounce its success to 
be an impossibility. There are not wanting at 
the Soutii a class of men, a small minority as 
yet, it is true, but, as a class, influential, who 
think they see an opportunity to make money 
by falling in with the new order of things and 
co-operating heartily. "Such men as these 
will offer, and are now offei-ing, to pay the 
blacks fair prices for their labor next season 
on the plantations. I know of offers of fifteen 
dollars a month, with board, lodging, medical at- 
tendance, the right to raise stock and to cultivate 
an acre of ground on their owa account as a 
garden, to first-class field hands, made by 
Southerners of this class. Now, in my opinion 
this is very foir pay. Others ofler one-fourtl? 
of the crop, of all crops. But the determinf 
tion of the blacks not to work cotton so lon^ 
they can find other work to do is all bu^ 
vincible. Those Northern men who comf 
operations early next season will be f' 



/ 



/ 



make crops ; for they can hire away the stead- 
iest and best hands from their former owners, 
who have folded their hands and are waitinc:, 
like Micawbor, for something to turn up. As 
to shivery, that man must be bhnd indeed who 
cannot see that it is as dead as the Pharaohs, 
and only awaits its burial. Even if the North 
should acquiesce in its re-establishment, it 
Would be impossible. The black man is anoth- 
er being ; the shackles are off, and only by a 
terrible and doubtful struggle could they be 
replaced. The fact is, that, while we are de- 
bating what amount of capacity the black man 
possesses, he has gone beyond the anticipations 
of his warmest friends : he not only i-ealizes 
that he is free, but he is not at all disposed to 
accept any restrictions on his perfect freedom. 
Those who have been flattering themselves that 
he would have to pass through a transition 
state, will be disappointed. The only trouble 
now is to prevent him from mistaking license 
for liberty ; to inculcate the doctrine of respon- 
sibility among the blacks now should be the 
aim of every Northern man at the South to-day, 
for it is only from the Northern men the blacks 
■will stoop to learn. Our white soldiers, from a 
love of mischief, have been filling the ears of 
the blacks with the most I'idiculous and outra- 
geous stories. It is easy enough to make theni 
believe them. Thus, when I tell them it is 
not true that the lands are to be divided among 
them, not one in ten fully believes me. " Hasn't 
General Sherman set aside the Sea Islands for 
them ? " " What's the use to give us our free- 
dom if we can't stay Avhere we are raised, and 
own our houses where we are born, and our 
little pieces of ground ? " The black soldiers 
are responsible for the bad habits of the freed- 
inen to a great extent. I am at a loss to see 
what possible good their presence here is now. 
If to humble the Southern pride, that end has 
been fully accomplished. I have heard black 
soldiers make the most insulting remarks to 
Southerners, who are too glad to get by with 
only that, to take notice of them. The one 
thing before all others is, however, to educate, 
educate, educate ! Blacks and whites, old and 
young, rich and poor, education is their need 
alike- 



MONTGOMERY, ALA., Sept. 15, 1865, 

Except for the disinclination to make con- 
tracts for the next year, or to keep those en- 
tered into for this year, in fact, to do work on 
plantations, the blacks are acting admirably 
loherever there are no nenro soldiers stationed. 
They seem not only willing but anxious to 
obtain labor of any kind except that on plan- 
"^tions. They desire to learn mechanical em- 
'pyments ; any number can be hired for such 
\'poses ; but they won't work on plantations. 
^Y a great deal said about their stealing 
isitios ; but I feel quite certain they don't 
Nilf so much as the whites; and to my 



mind it is clear that half the villany charged on 
the poor blacks is perpetrated by the whites, 
who find it convenient to make a scape-goat 
of the negro. Every one who owns cotton here 
is agreed as to one fact, — the necessity of 
keej)ing a guard over it day and night to pro- 
tect it from the white thieves ; and if they will 
steal cotton, as it is notorious they do, I can't 
see why they won't steal any thing else. 

The latest " dodge " is for the white women 
to harness up their wagons and go on a cotton 
"raid;" then, if the cotton is found on the 
man's premises, he knows nothing about it. 
What can you expect from a race who set 
their wives and daughters to steal for their 
support? The white man is more afraid of 
the negro than the negro of the white man ; 
withdraw your support, and the negro will 
stand firmly enough by himself. All the pro- 
ducing labor that is done is done by him, and 
this will continue to be the case. The white 
man down here has learned to lean on the 
negro for support, and he can't do without 
him ; and the negro knows it. It is all working 
right enough. The large plantations must be 
subdivided ; this will come about of itself in 
time. Already every one is clamoring to sell 
at any sacrifice. Then small crops from small 
freeholders will in time be more than equal to 
large crops on large plantations. Depend 
upon it, it is all working for the best. As for 
the re-enslavement of the negro, as well talk 
of recalling yesterday. The nearest approach 
that any one down here hopes for is the estab- 
lishment of such laws regulating labor as would 
constitute a sort of serfdom. The Banks' sys- 
tem would be accepted iy an instant by the 
white man. As regards negro suffrage, many 
of the planters will not oppose it, thinking that 
they can secure the negroes' votes ; but they 
dare not openly advocaSe it, as the middle and 
poorer classes will not hear of it. They will 
not consent to discuss it, saying it is simply 
impossible. The power and prestige and influ- 
ence of the old planters have in a great meas- 
ure departed forever. I go from here to Selma, 
and shall then try to get up in the northern 
part of the State. 



New Orleans, Oct. 1, 1865. 
Deau Sir, — Up to this time I have re- 
frained from expressing any opinion in relation 
to the temper, policy, or designs of the people 
at the South, except as regards their relations 
toward the freedmen. I abstained purposely, 
and for two reasons ; first, I desired ample 
time and opportunity in order to form an intel- 
ligent and impartial idea of their tone of feel- 
ing under the new and peculiar circumstances 
in which they have been pkiced ; and next,. 
I should hot now have ventured to obtrude my 
opinion upon you, had not you done me the 
honor to request it. I have, as is natural un- 
der the circumstances, occupied myself in a 



10 



very oonsitlorablc dcprce in observing tlioir 
jfciu'ral state of mind, in listt-ninj; to tlioir plans 
and hopes and fears fur tlie future, and, in fact, 
in atteniptinij to understand their present posi- 
tion and future prosj)ects. In travelling about 
as I have, from one section of the country to 
the other, I have been able to eompare opin- 
ions, and, as you know, I have had peculiar and 
favorable opportunities for ascertaining the 
views they have In common. I have endeav- 
ored to trace the motives from which they have 
acted, and which now animate them, and their 
1-eal [)nrpose for the future, if they have one. 
In giving you my opinion now, it is proper to 
say that I have taken no one individual as a 
criterion of the whole, and have judged them 
only by the opinions I find they are generally 
V agreed upon ; neither have I any one's state- 
ment for their thoughts and actions. My opin- 
ions, deductions, and conclusions are derived 
from my own experience and observation 
among them, and whether they shall be con- 
firmed or denied by others, are, notwithstand- 
ing, n'v honest a^id sincere convictions. 

My opportunities for mixing among thorn, 
and' arrix'ing at their real and true sentiments, 
have been considerable and frequent, and I 
have made use of them to the full extent of my 
ability. I "ow propose to write you a letter, 
or letters, giving you my full opinion with all 
the conclusions I have been able to arrive at. 
If any statement in it may appear to you worth 
makinf public, yon have my free permission to 
use my name as authority. 

One needs but a short time to remark, among 
this people, that, wiiile the war has impoverished 
• them, reducing the ifost wealthy among them 
almost to very paupers, and bringing all down 
to one common level, so far as goods and money 
are concerned, it has yet given an immense 
impetus to the whole Southern country, devel- 
oped a degree of latent force and energy among 
the inhabitants that was, to say the least, quite 
unexpected, and has tended directly toward 
making them more of a self-supporting, self- 
reliant community than before the war, by the 
consolidation of their interests and resources. 
Nor is the movement likely to cease with the 
war. The poor white goes back to his home 
with his mind enlarged and strengthened, and 
capable of grasping i<Ieas which he never even 
attempted to comprehend before the war. His 
discipline has improved him immensely, so far 
as his capacity is concerned; he is far more 
ready to reason for himself. The fixhe ideas 
prevalent throughout the South in relation to 
the dignity or indignity of labor have been 
■ done away with almost entirely, and I have 
met and can mention the names of planters' 
sons who were esteemed to be worth millions 
betbre the war, who are not ashamcij to per- 
form duties they once considered as degrading, 
such as acting as overseers, clerks, &c., &c., 
even to the learning of mechanical trades. I 
have met men who have gone to work since the 



close of the war at fifty cents per diem, cutting 
fire-wood ami drawing water, who once owned 
thelr^ilantalions and had many slaves. I be- 
lieve they honestly accept and intend to abide 
by the emancipation of the negro. ^lany of 
them speak of it as if a great load had been 
lifted olF them. Their position in regard to 
slavery appears to be this: They felt that they 
needed the proilucing labor of the negro, and- 
that under the slave code they were sure of it, 
in a high degree, while under a free-labor sys- 
tem, at the best, it could not be made available 
to such an extent for many years. Besides, 
they say they were born in this country, and 
found the blacks here, and even though slavery 
might be morally wrong, yet what coidd they 
do? By emancipation they almost universally 
believe the inevitable destruction of the blacks 
is accomi)lished. According to their theory, 
the negro, if left to himself, will relapse into 
barbarism; and, as he cannot take care of him- 
self, he will, in time, die out, even if his exit is 
not hastened by a war of races, which almost 
all regard as possible, and very many, perhaps 
the majority, as inevitable. They say that for 
the negro's sake, quite as much as for their own, 
they would have perpetuated the institution of 
slavery. Many of them, while perfectly will- 
ing to admit that it degraded the white man, 
assert that it brought the negro higher in the 
social scale than he ever could have otherwise 
attained. These say, that, in emancipating the 
negro, the North has j)ronounced his death- 
warrant, and that his blood must be on the 
head of those who accomplished his destruction. 
They are all anxious to supply their places 
with white labor. 

If any grand colonization project should be 
started, the Southerners would all favor it, as 
they say now, all they wish is, " to get shet of 
them;" that is, to get them out of the country. 
But, while I am able to say that they have 
made up their minds that emancipation Is a 
fact, anil not to be avoided, I am obliged to 
state my earnest opinion, that, so far as seces- 
sion is concerned, that is, the doctrine of State 
Rights, It is more deeply rooted than ever 
among them. They are perfectly united In 
the belief that the division of this country Is 
both right from a moral stand-point, and j)olitic 
as a measure of expediency. They have sim- 
ply changed their base from the battle-field to 
the ballot-box, believing, as they very frankly 
admit, that greater triumphs await them there 
than they could ever hope for in the field. In 
almost every house hangs the old, worn. Con- 
federate uniform, which is displayed with pride 
and satisfaction to all comers. So far from re- 
penting of the stand they took, they glory In 
it. They, regret the result, and their non/ 
success, it is true, but not one in a thousand wi' 
admit they were in the wrong. / 

Many profess to de{>lore the policy f 
leaders saw At to adopt ; In fact, almost al'' 
exceptions to it in whole or in part, as^ 



11 



their failure to this or that measure, having, or 
not having, been adopted ; but, so far as my 
experience extends, none attack the principles 
they professed. A favorite idea with them is 
that if they had not set up a new government, 
but fought for their rights under the old flag, 
making the revolution a national one, they 
■would have succeeded at once, and could then 
have reconstructed the Union to suit them- 
selves. 

They have returned, as they themselves take 
every opportunity of asserting, because they had 
to, not because they tvished to. Ask almost any 
man here if he believes he would be better off 
out of the Union than in it, and he is surprised 
at the question. " Of course they would be 
better off." They return under compulsion, 
and desire it to be so understood. Their posi- 
tion is precisely this: they coincide with their 
military leaders, who believed, as a choice 
OF EVILS, it was better to return to the Union 
than to continue the war. The only conces- 
sion they are willing sincerely to make is that 
of slavery, which they see has been ground out 
of existence by the war. It was a measure of 
policy that induced them to give up, not a 
conviction of duty. They arc angry with 
Jeffersox Davis, because he did not accede 
|o Lincoln's terms, at Fortress Monroe. 
They argue that at least ninety-five in every 
tno huntlred votes at the North are sure to 
be thrown in their favor, and they can now 
rule the Union by giving up, which is cheaper 
than to persist in their idea of a separate gov- 
ernment. That idea, however, is only laid aside 
for a time. Every boy at the South is being 
educated in the belief that the relations the 
South to-day sustains toward the North, are the 
same as those of Hungary or Venetia toward 
Austria, or of Poland to Russia. They bide 
their time. They have adopted for their motto, 
" Patience, and shuffle the cards." The snake, 
so far from being killed, is barely " scotched." 
Meantime, they deem it better to rule in. the 
Union tlian to serve in the Confederate army. 

As Ilamilcar made Hannibal swear eternal 
enmity against old Rome, so every Southern 
matron is bringing up her children to hate and 
despise the Federal Union. The abolition of 
slavery is but an incident to them, a part of the 
price they have to pay ; the idea of a separate 
and independent nationality is deeply rooted in 
the Southern heart. It is strongest among tlie 
youngest. You need not expect to see the 
Fourth of July celebrated in this portion of 
the country. Their jireachers are among the 
most persistent, and all the influence of the pul- 
pit is on the side of disunion. Their professors 
second their efforts fi-om their colleges and sem- 
■^naries. How long this will continue it is diffi- 
>Ut to say ; but it does not look as though it 

'^uld die out in a day. I will write more on 
S^ibject in a few days. 



\ 



New Oulean's, Oct. 2, 1865. 

Dear Sir, — In my letters to you, I have 
given it as my opinion that the South have 
made up their minds to accept the emancipa- 
tion of the blacks as a fait accompli, as some- 
thing that is done and cannot be undone. It 
may well appear, however, that many of their 
argimients and resolutions Mould seem to squint 
at the re-establishment of slaveiy. Thus when 
they deny that the President possessed the con- 
stitutional right to issue Lis proclamation of 
emancipation (and that being the case liis de- 
crees upon the subject are not binding and of 
no eflect), it would be rjuite reasonable and 
natural to supy)ose that tliey drew the infer- 
ence that slavery still exists of right ; but, there 
is another explanation to this. The whole 
South is in league to obtain compensation for 
the slaves. 

This is what prevents Kentucky from adopt- 
ing the constitutional amendment, and this is 
the secret of all their speeches and resolves. 
As to the fact itself, it is indisputable. Slavery 
is dead, and nothing less than a miracle could 
re-establish it. If the North, however, has any 
fears upon the subject, they have only to mus- 
ter out the black troops and send them South ; 
and, my word for it, there will be much more 
danger of the blacks enslaving the whites in 
these cotton States than of the opposite. The 
South, to-day, so far mistake the situation as to 
suppose that, by pretending to believe the in- 
stitution not yet defunct, and that it is still pos- 
sible to revive it, they can frighten the North- 
ern people into compensation for emancipation. 
They are confirmed in this idea by tlie action 
of New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky. I 
have heard many a Southern man bitterly ac- 
cuse Jefferson Davis of neglecting to accept 
the terms Lincoln offl'red at Fortress Mon- 
roe ; and, when I asked what those terms were, 
they answered, " Gradual emancipation, and 
payment to be made to the owners of slaves." 
^Vhen I said the whole South was in league, I 
should have said, the whole body o( slave-owners. 
Those who did not own slaves, however, are 
still the ready tools and accomplices of those 
who did. 

The devotion of the Southern people to, and 
their belief in, the reigning class, can hardly 
be exaggerated. It is my firm belief, that, if 
either General Lee or AVade Hamtton 
should raise the standard of revolt to-moiTOw, 
thousands upon thousands would flock to their 
support. Not that there is the slightest reason 
to suspect such a movement. On the contrary, 
the Southern people have made up their minds 
not to do any more fighting if they can possi- 
bly help it ; but they have that confidence in 
the individuals I have mentioned, tliat they 
would waive their own opinions in a moment. 
This does not extend to their prominent politi- 
cal men, most of whom are distrusted, and 
some hated as badly as the " the Yankees." 



^, 



Is 



1^ 



As to tlicir aflecnion for their military' leaders, 
you will liud proof in the elections at lliehmoud 
and South Carolina. No luan has a better 
claim to their t^ynipath}-, and none stand a 
better chance of" election, than those who were 
the last to give up. Motives of policy may 
induce them to nominate others, but the fact 
renuiins as I have stated. I re])eat that Gen- 
eral Li;k and Wadk Hampton aro the two 
most popular and best-loved men in the South 
to-day. I have heard but one disi)araging re- 
mark made of General hv.v. since I was at the 
South, and that waa in this connection : I was 
rilling one nijjht in a hack across the gap in a 
railway, made by Wilson, and, as usual, the 
conversation turned on political afiairs and the 
conditions and prospects of the Southern peo- 
ple. One man said that General Lee stood 
the best chance for the next presidency, — by 
the way, that is a very prevalent idea here at 
the South, — when another remarked that he 
would rather have Andrew Johnson. I 
was curious to know why, and inquired. lie 
replied, that " he had had but little confidence 
in Lee since he favored negro soldiers, and in 
his opinion he was not much better than a 
black republican." 

The old proverb, you see, holds good with 
tliis jieople, and these "men convinced against 
their will, are of the same opinion still." 

Li my next letter 1 will try and indicate 
what I believe to be the policy of the Southern 
leaders, and what objects they are trying to 
achieve. I will mention here, however, that 
Southern people can scarcely credit the possi- 
bility of their representatives being refused 
admittance to Congress; and as to negro suf- 
frage, they never will give their consent to it. 
The ])lanters might ; but the prejudice among 
the middle and poorer classes is too great for 
them to encounter, and, at the best, they will 
only remain passive. 



New Orleans, Oct. 4, 18G5. ' 
Dear Sir, — The Southern people, it ap- 
pears to me, are, and have been, far more in 
the habit of implicitly trusting their political 
leaders than the people of the North. They 
are less disposed to criticise the actions of those 
in authority until the event has proved them 
right or wrong. This results, no doubt, in a 
great degree, from the fact that their periodical 
literature (newspapers, &c.) is far inferior in 
amount of distribution to that at the North. It 
is no uncommon thing here for men of cultiva- 
tion and refinement to permit weeks to pass 
without taking up a newspaper. I mention 
this fact because 1 am fully persuaded that the 
disposition of the Southern people is to be 
allected permanently by the way their former 
leaders are treated by the North. For instance, 
it would be the worst ])ossible policy to hang or 
otherwise severely punish Jefferson Davis. 



To-day there is a strong feeling at the South 
against the iman. They claim that by his self- 
will and obstinacy he has done more to injure 
the Confederate cause than any ten of their 
antagonists ; now, if he is punished, he will as 
surely be canonized by the South as a martyr, 
as lie will be forever disliked by them if per- 
mitted to go free. The quickest and surest 
and only way to conciliate the South, if it be 
their good-will that is sought, is to hold out 
such inducements to the leaders they still con- 
fide in as shall cause them to represent to the 
Southern people that it is for their interest to 
accept the statu quo. The Southern people 
can be reached quickest through the medium 
of such men as 11. E. Lee and Wade LIamp- 

TON. 

At present, every one at the South is occu- 
pied in his personal and fiiinily interests. There 
are noj>olitical ])arties; very little coherence of 
opinion as to the policy best to be pursued. 
I find among the knowing ones, particularly 
those who have been on to the North, and 
remained some time in New York or Wash- 
ington, a sanguine belief that they can easily 
resume the reins of office; and these men are 
the only Unionists in the South to-day. You 
can depend upon it, that the Southern States 
in the future will present one solid, tuianimous 
front, — their leaders have them Avell in hand, 
and this is precisely what nincty-uine in every 
hundred of the men, women, and children be- 
lieve sincerely as to the situation to-day : First, 
that the South of right possesses and always 
possessed the right of secession. Secondly, 
that the war only proved that the North was 
the strongest. Thirdly, that negro slavery was 
and is right, but has been abolished by the 
war. The Southerners are too smart men not 
to sec that slavery is dead, but many of them 
hope as long as the black race exists here to 
be able to hold it in a condition of [iractical 
serfdom. All expect the negro will be killed 
in one Avay or another by emancipation. The 
policy of those who will eventually become the 
leaders here at the South is, tor the present, 
to accept the best they can get, to acquiesce in 
any thing and every thing, but to strain every 
nerve to regain the political power and ascend- 
ency they held under Buchanan. This they 
believe cannot be postponed longer than up to 
the next presidential election. They will do 
all in their power to resist negro sutlragc, to 
reduce taxation and expenditures, and would 
attack the national debt if they saw any reason 
to believe repudiation possible. They will 
continue to assert the inferiority of the Afri- 
can, and they would to-day, if possible, precip- 
itate the United States into a foreign war, be- 
lieving they could then re-assert and obtain'/ 
their independence. They Avill, most of thenrj' 
take any oaths you may cause to be adoptey 
and break them immediately and without s f 
pie. In one word, this people have p-V 



13 



themselves in resolute antagonism to the North ; 
and this generation, at least, will always haie 
the Northern people, while the boys are being 
educated to the same idea. They will never, 
however, appeal to arms again, unless in the 
event of a division at the North, where they 
could be sure of the assistance of one side, or in 
case of a foreign war. They are bound now, 
as before, to rule or ruin ; and if admitted to 
political power, j'ou will find out that what I 
write is true. The only way to make Union 
men of them is to appeal to their interests. 
Their sympathies are all one way ; and they 
nearly all believe that the disintegration of this 
nation is accomplished already, and that the 
bonds that hold it together will soon snap apart 
from their own weight. 



New Orleans, Oct. 8, 1865. 
Dear Sir, — Nowhere have I heard the 
different theories in relation to the best mode 
of disposing of the difEculties which at present 
surround the questions of cotton cultivation 
and the employment of the blacks more bit- 
terly canvassed, and more decidedly advanced 
and objected to, than here in New Orleans. So 
far from there being any unanimity on the 
subject, it would almost appear that no two 
persons thought alike on the question. Instead 
of Northern men believing that negroes can 
and will work cotton, so that it can be made 
profitable both to the planter and the freedmen, 
as a general rule, I find those Northern men 
whose planting experience has been confined to 
the past two or three seasons among the most 
sceptical as regards negro labor. But this may 
proceed, no doubt does in some degree, from 
their having been so unfortunate, a result to be 
traced rather to the ravages of the cotton-worm 
than to the desultory labor of the blacks ; for it 
is not that the negro will not work, but that 
he will not work steadily, that is the complaint. 
On the other hand, I have met Southerners, 
former slaveholders, who are more sanguine 
than the warmest friends of the blacks, and 
who have out-Yankeed the Yankee in their of- 
fers to, and treatment of, the freedmen. It is 
not to be denied that by far the larger part of 
the community here at the South utterly scout 
and deride the idea of free negro labor ; but it 
is my intention in this letter to put in the 
statements and experience of Dr. B., of Lake 
Washington, Mississippi. Dr. B. I have known 
ever since I first came down here in '63., 
He was one of the most persistent, bitter, and 
uncompromising secessionists I ever met. A 
smart man : indeed, as I have frequent occa- 
casion to remark, honest, outspoken secession- 
ots are nearly always the smartest, and gener- 
^'y, so far as their private lives are concerned, 
■most respected and respectable, portion of 
community. He informs me that he has 
'i good crop this year ; that he believes 
'Vee labor can be made more remunera- 
slave labor ; and that, so far as he is 



concerned, all he fears is that not enough of it 
can be procured. He has had no trouble 
with his hands. He paid them this season, 
men ten dollars, women seven and eight, per 
month. They worked as well as ever they 
did : none have left him. Now for the expla- 
nation of this seeming miracle. Dr. B. said 
to me, " Last season, I worked my hands by 
means of an overseer, and all the trouble and 
tumult common among the other negroes and 
upon the other plantations ensued. I made 
up my mind that it was all the fault of the 
overseer, a good enough man in his way, better 
than they average ; but, like the rest, he 
persisted in ignoring the change that had 
taken place in affairs, and worked on the 
old system. So this season I resolved to go into 
the field myself. I told my hands at the com- 
mencement of the season just what I would do 
for them, just what I expected them to do for 
me. They raised sweet potatoes, eggs, and 
chickens on their own account. I fed and 
clothed them, and paid them so much. I have 
not had the least trouble. They have uniform- 
ly treated me with respect, as I have them with 
justice. They are all perfectly satisfied with 
their year's work ; and I expect to pursue ex- 
actly the same course next season, and have no 
doubt I shall get along just as well. I should 
not go into the field witli my negi-oes myself, if ne- 
cessity did not compel me to it : it has compelled 
me to' it, and it vnll compel me to it for many 
years to come, I expect. I have about eighty 
head of negroes. Of these, only some twenty 
odd work in the field ; the rest are too old or 
too young, or house-servants. At fifty cents a 
pound for cotton, I can afford to support not 
only the negroes, but their families. If cotton 
falls, I shall explain to my hands, and they 
will comprehend me, that, not receiving so 
much, I cannot afford to give them so much. 
I am willing always to make a fair division 
with them." This is a part of what Dr. B. 
has told me. You will perceive thi'S coincides 
precisely with the theory I advanced in some 
of my earlier letters to you on this subject. If 
planters themselves would direct their negroes, 
and dispense with the overseer, all the good 
and well-inclined negroes would obey them so 
long as justice was done them. The negroes 
who are vicious and idle, will, in one way or 
another, be obliged to labor sooner or later. 
But the former class is the larger, or will be as 
soon as their excitement about their freedom 
subsides. The novelty of the thing of course 
leads to many irregularities, but they are al- 
ready settling down. I have met one other 
planter in South Carolina who had had precisely 
the same experience as Dr. B., having gone 
to work in the very same manner. But he was 
a " small " planter, only owning before the war 
some ten or twelve hands. What Dr. B. has 
done, nine out of ten of the Southern plant- 
ers might do, if so inclined. The difficulty lies 
in their lack of inclination. 



14 



ArBTTM, Tetlvs, Oct. 23, 18C5. 
I could not engage a private conveyance to 
San Antonio for less than one hundred dollars 
in specie. Nothing but specie circulates here 
among the natives; and people having business 
hero will do well to provide themselves with 
gold and silver, as rates are much ciieaper lor 
" the hard " than Avhen paid in greenbacks, 
estimating gold at .50 per cent, premium. I 
passed tlirougli Bastrop on the 21st, and found 
the inhabitants (engaged in raising an American 
flag over the court-house, with the honor of a 
salute. As the act was voluntary, it proves that 
there is really and truly a genuine " Union " 
sentiment in some portions of this State. The 
German element in the population here as 
elsewhere is sincerely loyal, I believe. The 
cotton they bring into market (the (Jermans) 
is uniformly much better handled, picked 
cleaner, &c., than that produced by negro 
cultivation. The Germans raise from one to 
fifteen bales apiece. Almost all the cotton 
■which has yet been brought in is theirs. The 
condition of society in this State is beyond all 
deserlption. Every one goes armed ; the best 
citizens, old gray-haired men, carry two or 
more pistols, and are ready to use them on the 
least provocation. Travel, there is little or 
none. A person might be almost excused for 
believing that the country was relapsing into 
utter barbarism. One finds here the most ul- 
tra secessionists, but also " Union" men of the 
Parson Brownlow type. Business here is not 
nearly as good as during the war. In fact, Texas 
improved during the war in population, wealth, 
and resources. As there is no railway within 
upwards of a hundred miles of this place, all the 
stocks of goods have to be hauled in on wagons. 
During the war no inconvenience was experi- 
enced from the blockade, as the business was 
done through ^Mexico. ]\Iost of the stoi es are 
close<l here, having sold out every thing. Spe- 
cie abounds, and there is no poverty. Every 
one is going to try and raise cotton next year. 
In fact, Texas is entirely unlike the other 
States through Avhich I have pa.ssed. To i)rove 
how entirely every thing is sold out of the 
country, it is only necessary for me to state 
that all the di-inking saloons are closed up, be- 
cause they are unable to haul whiskey in fiist 
enough to supply the demand. As every one 
familiar with Southern character knows that 
whiskey with them is the most indispensable of 
necessities, they can understand liow completely 
every thing down here is thrown out of gear. 
I hear manyof tiie people regret that they had 
not persevered after the surrender of Lee, and 
kept up the war on this side the Mississippi. 
There are several thousand Confederates on 
the west side the llio Grande, hoping and ex- 
2)ecting the United States will get into a war 
with INIaximilian, when they expect to form 
the imeleus of a Southern army. The amount 
of old cotton in the State is leas than the new 
crop, and of poor i^uality. 



San Antonto dk Bkxar, » 
Tt;xAs, (.»ct. •■Hi, leiij. i 

INfy route from Austin to this city took me 
through tile (Jerman settlement of New Braun- 
feis. All the (Jermans intend to plant cotton 
next year, and I should not be surprised if the 
amount raised in this State by their labor alone 
should amount to one hundred thousand i)ale3. 
You can set Texas down for a large crop in 
18Gr>, unless something extraordinary oceurs. 
At New Braunfels I found a cotton mill in 
operation, started witliin three weeks. The 
machinei-y is slated to have come from Eng- 
land ; but I discovered it was from New York, 
smuggled across the border, just before the close 
of the war, from Mexico. These Germ:-uis hero 
maintain all their national characteristics, and, 
as an evidence of their loyalty, it is sullicient to 
state that out of twenty-two hundred enlisted 
in the Confederate service at New Braunfels, 
seventeen hundred deserted as soon as they 
found themselves in the vicinity of our troops, 
and, re-enlisting under the old flag, Ibught 
straight through to the end. Tlie first pi ice in 
Texas where they hoisted the stars and stri])es 
at the suri-ender was here at New Braunfels, 
two months before they saw a Federal soldier in 
their vicinity; in fact, their sincerity and loy- 
alty is not to be questioned, and they will 
prove the redemption of the State in the end. 
To prove how slow and inadequate are the 
operations of the Freedraen's Bureau, there 
was not an agent in the State, except on the 
Island of Galveston, when I landed. The day 
before I left Austin, the capital, a lieutenant 
reported for tin- first time, but he informed me 
lie had sent in his resignation, and it was 
plainly to be seen that the duty was distasteful 
to him. As (Jen. Thomas well says, it will 
take " heroes " to do the work pro[X)sed. At 
present their work is about equal to JMrs. Par- 
tington and her mop versus the Atlantic Ocean. 
(Jen. Gregory told me that it was almost im- 
possible to find oliicers competent and willing 
to act as agents. Only two had been sent to 
him when 1 left Galveston. lie is a host in 
himself, however, and has got Galveston at last 
under his control. I ought to have mentioned 
that the cotton mill at New Braunfels is run 
from early dawn until eleven o'cloc-k at night. 



Harrisburg, Texas, ( 
Oct. 31, 18C5. ) 

I reached this point this morning ; and leave 
again to-day, if I can find a conveyance. In- 
stead of reaching the ccxist by way of Victoria 
and Indianola, as I had desired, I found I must 
in oilier to economize my time, strike for tl 
nearest point on tlie railway, Alle}-ton, wk'' 
I made in two days and nights' staging if 
San Antonio. My route lay tlii-ough the/ 
heart of the cotton district. I noticed ty 
fields of cotton needed picking badly, - 
there is an unusual amount of wa"^ 



15 



pickino^. The planters are complaining loudly 
of the meffifieut manner in whioh the freedmen 
are woyking. The amount of old cotton in the 
State is quite difficult to ascertain on account 
of the vast extent of country. A considerable 
amount was on its way toward the Rio Grande 
at the close of the war, and remains where the 
news reached the wagoners. There appears to 
have been not the least difficulty either in pro- 
curing or forwarding supplies and merchandise 
of any kind through Mexico via Matamoras. 
As the future of the cotton-planting interest 
hinges directly upon the relations this section 
of the country sustains towards the General 
Government, I shall offer no apologj for di- 
gressing to the question of the sentiment of the 
people here. It appears to me to be deepening 
and intensifying day by day. So far from any 
genuine and sincere loyalty to the Union, the 
people evidently regret and think they made a 
mistake in laying down their arms as they did. 
The Germans, however, in this State, are safe 
to be depended upon, and there are not want- 
ing individuals of the Houston, Jack Hamilton, 
Andy Juhnsou t3'pe, who are true in their ac- 
tions as well as professions to the Union cause ; 
but here as in all the other States the large 
majority of the people believe themselves to- 
day the victims of a mihtary despotism; and 
fiome even in their heart of hearts believe that 
the Confederate government still exists de jure, 
and will one day be restored. The women, 
especially, take every opportunity of declaring 
that " this affair is not yet over," and " the war 
has yet to be fought out." The men are more 
cautious from motives of policy, but their feel- 
ings and sentiments are the same. 



Galveston, Texas, ) 
Nov. 3, 1865. J 

I am sorry to say that I very much doubt if 
a large proportion of this year's crop will not 
be lost entirely, either by not being picked at 
all, or wasted in the picking. To give you an 

idea, is one of the largest planters in 

this State : he informed me yesterday that he 
Lad at the surrender sufficient cotton planted 
to have raised from twelve hundred to fourteen 
hundred bales this year. When Kirby Smith 
surrendered, you will remember it was quite 
late in the season, and cotton was well ad- 
vanced in this latitude, and has not 

been injured by the worm in his crops to any 
extent ; but such has been the difficulty in 
obtaining adequate labor, and so great has 
been the waste in the field, that he now only 
expects from three to four hundred bales. 
Now here is a loss of at least 65 per cent, 
probably 75, caused entirely by the conduct of 
the freedmen and their employers, tor 



one of that large body of Southern planters 

•0 can never be induced under any clrcum- 

ces to go into the field himself regularly to 

'utend the labor of his employes. They 



will not work under an overseer; and hence 
they are left under the nominal supervision of 
one of their own number whom they do not 
mind, as is sufficiently evidenced by their be- 
havior. It is a sad sight to see the broad fields 
of beautiful cotton, hundreds and thousands of 
acres in extent, all being lost and ruined by 
the want of sense on the part of the planters. 
At this rate I must reduce lyy estimate of the 
amount o? neio cotton from 150,000 to less than 
50,000 bales. I never would have believed 
people could have been so utterly foolish 
and neglectful of their own interests if I 
had not seen it. But it is a fact that 
there are plenty of planters here who will 
sit still and see themselves reduced to beggary 
rather than exert themselves to prevent it. I 

will add 'ri statement as to the course 

he pursued with his freedmen. He informs me 
that as slaves they were in the habit of picking 
from 200 to 400 pounds of seed cotton per 
diem, picking say 300 pounds upon an average, 
and picking it clean and nice. He first paid 
them by the month, and they averaged only 
50 pounds per day. Then he paid them by 
the pound, and they rose in one day to the old 
amount, and only worked half as long as they 
used in the old time ; but, instead of picking the 
plants clean, they hurried through the field, 
pulling out the largest bunches, and scattering 
all the rest around, trampling down the plants, 
and losing from two-thirds to three-quarters in 
the field. This could all have been avoided, 
of course, if they had had a superintendent or 
overseer who had them under control ; but the 
fact is, the freedmen have no idea of real sensi- 
ble freedom, and fancy the word means license 
complete and unrestrained : hence they refuse 
to be controlled by any one. 



The following letter, written from Galveston, 
gives, not the impressions of Texas, through 
which the writer had not then passed, but of 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, in 
which latter State the writer barely escaped 
with his life from an attack of guerillas. 

It does not appear in the regular series ac- 
cording to its date, because it was thought best 
not to print it until the statements made had 
been confirmed from other sources of informa- 
tion, as they have been. 

Galveston, Tkxas, ) 
Oct. IG, 1803. j 

Dear Sir, — I leave here this afternoon 
for Houston. You asked me in your last 
letter what my ideas were in relation to 
cotton-planting. If Northern men will assimi- 
late themselves to these half-civilized South- 
erners, will consent to give up all the ties that 
connect them with their homes, promise to 
oppose negro suffrage to the death, and submit 
to a constant and untiring surveillance of 
every action, they will be permitted to remain 
in this Southern country ; although any maa 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



16 



born north of Mason & Dixon's lino, or wlio 
Las cvL'r borne arms in tbc Federal service, 
will be rejrardeil with more or less distrust, 
■Nvill hear his i'rionds' sentiments and education 
made the subject of never-ceasing abuse and 
vituperation, and must never expect to bo 
allowed to advocate any theory that docs not 
meet with general favor. If any man from the 
North comes down here expecting to hold and 
maintain " radicjfl " or " abolition " sentiments, 
lot him expect to be shot down from behind 
the first time he leaves his house, and know 
that his murderer, if ever brought to justice, 
will I)e acquitted by the jury. Jf the military 
are withdrawn, his house even will be no pro- 
tection, and he may expect to be hung from 
his own chamber window. I tell you, Mr. 

, these men are only taking breath, and 

recuperating. Not that' there is the slight- 
est danger of any immediate outbreak. No; 
the Southern people arc too smart for that. 
They will never again measure strength with 
the North, unless their success be assured 
beforehand. In case of foreign war or a 
domestic convulsion at the North, they will 
rise, but they will never try it alone and with- 
out assistance. Meantime they propose to 
" take it out in hating." Already our officers 
are the subject of a social ostracism. It will 
be possible, by minding one's own business, and 
not interfering with politics on either side, by 
keeping at home as much as possible, and 
adopting a conciliatory policy, for Northern 
men to get along ; but, for one, / should rather 
plant under the old state of affairs, for then it 
was fair and open warfare, and we knew what 
to expect; now there are hundreds of the 
most bitter and resentful secessionists at home, 
who then were in the army. These men say 
what they will do, and I believe them. I 
repeat that any man of radical views, who 
comes down here to plant cotton, will be in 
constant danger, night and day, unless he 
holds his tongue. 

The Union that these men fancied they were 
: returning to is the old Union of Pierce and 
• Buchanan. My room-mate on the " Magno- 
lia," from New Orleans, told me that he would 
make one of a party to assassinate all the 
officers connected with the Freedmen's liurcau 
"in a minute." I told Gen. Gregory of it, but 
the remark was too common to attract notice. 
\ Nevertheless, if people think these threats 
mean nothing, they arc much mistaken, else I 
am a very poor judge of human nature. Mili- 
tary law is the only chance or hope for perma- 
nent order in this unhappy country. 1 begin 
to think with Carlyle that " America is the 
dirtiest chimney of the nineteenth century," and 
must burn itself clean. The ministers of the 
gospel, of all denominations, the instructors of 
the youth of the country, the women and the 
young men, all hate the North with a degree 
of intensity that cannot be exaggerated. The 
only men on whom it is possible to depend, 



014 366 351 6 

singular as it may appear w xju, .i. ^ -..v. 
leaders of the South during the war. Convert 
such a man as their Vice-President, Stcplieiis, 
and his influence for good will be innne'iise ; but 
the masses of the people ore bejond our 
reach. The wealthy and educated men of 
the South arc not so foolish but they must see 
how useless all this blind hate is; and, if you 
can secure their influence in abating it, you 
will have done all that can be done at present. 
All our officers will confirm my assertion when 
I say that the soldiers and officers of the Con- 
federate army are more moderate, more rea- 
sonable, and milder in their views and opinions 
than tliose who never fought for the cause at 
all. lYind our officers are getting to return 
hate for hate ; and no wonder. Tiicse people 
were and are a conquered people, and they can 
only be held as sucli ; they must be held down, 
or tlicy will hold us down. 

I am pretty well, but tired enough of this 
country. 



Webb's Ranch, Isaqi'kna Co., ) 
Miss., Nov. i3, 1805. { 

I regret to state, that under the civil power, 
now deemed by all the inhabitants of Missis- 
sippi (since the order of President Johnson 
revoking Gen. Slocum's decree in relation to 
the State militia) to be paramount, the condi- 
tion of the freedmen in many portions of the 
country has become deplorable and priinful in 
the extreme. I must give it as my deliberate 
opinion, that the freedmen are to-day, in the 
vicinity where I am now writing, Avorse off in 
most respects than when they were held as 
slaves. If matters are permitted to continue 
as they now seem likely to bo, it needs no 
prophet to predict a rising on the part of the 
colored ]ioj)ulation, and a terrible scene of 
bloodshed and desolation ; nor can one blame 
the negroes if this proves to be the result. I 
have heard, since my arrival here, of number- 
less atrocities that have been perpetrated 
against the freedmen. It is sufficient to state 
that the old overseers are in pouer again. 
The agents of the Freedmen's Bureau are 
almost powerless. Just as soon as tlie United- 
States troops are withdrawn, it will ix' unsafe 
for the agents oi* the Bureau to remain. The 
object of tlic Southerners appears to bo to 
make good their often-repeated assertions, to 
the efiect that the negroes would die if they 
were freed. To make it so, they seem deter- 
mined to goad them to desperation, in order 
to have an excuse to turn upon and annihilate 
them. Tliere are, within a few miles of where 
I sit writing, several Northern men who have 
settled here, designing to work plantations. 
Tii'ey all assure me 
themselves safe ii 
them, cx-colonels 

are afraid to leave their places without f 
armed escort. Other Northern lessees do y 
dare remain on their places. >/ 

7 



isigning to work plantations, y 
me that they do not consider ^ 
in the country; an<l two ofy 
is of the United-States arnv f 



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